TEACHING BOYS TO BECOME LEADERS

By REVEREND TONY ZEKVELD

You might ask, “What about girls? Why do you single out boys only?”

 I hope to focus on training girls in my next article. 

There is the well-known quip, “Leaders are made, not born”. You can’t just “become” a leader. This training begins at a very young age. The primary training ground for this is in the home. The home is the place for nurturing, cultivating skills and gifts in our children.

I focus on boys, first, because we live in a society where leadership among boys is not encouraged. Someday they will be husbands, fathers as well as providers and protectors of their wives and children. Too often boys are consumed with their clothing, hair styles and their electronic devices. Parents give in to their selfish desires. It’s easy.

There are a number of ways to train boys to become leaders. I’ll mention two.  

The first way is by teaching them to serve others. This begins within the family. Give them daily chores to do at home. Give them responsibilities. This is hard work; don’t I know it! But it helps to be consistent and over time they take on the responsibilities without being told. They learn to take on leadership by serving others. 

I remember attending a weekly all boys’ program, doing ‘boy’ things – hands-on projects like ‘knot-making’ and making model cars or learning camp survival. We learned certain skills, also at home, which prepared us at a very basic level to be future providers and protectors.

The second way is by teaching our boys to submit to God. In our home we taught our boys the necessity of submitting to Christ Jesus and His Word. By placing our faith in Him, Jesus guides us in serving others, gives the strength to serve others, but He also gives the joy and peace in serving others.

From Him, they receive the courage to provide and protect, to do what is good and to reject evil. This is so important in preparing them for marriage and raising their own children. Christ served humanity by giving up His life for sinners on the cross. This is what Good Friday is all about. And by laying down His life, He conquered the powers of sin, death and Satan. He led the way.

By teaching our children to submit to Christ in faith, we find the foundation to nurture our boys to become strong leaders in the home and in society.